Granite Bay, California
A Great Place to Live, Work, and Play!
Granite Bay derives its name from both the area of water in adjoining Folsom Lake and its unique geological origins. In fact, the entire area sits on a foundation of granodiorite from the Cretaceous age. Fossils from ocean sediment dating back 80 million years have been discovered in Granite Bay, often during construction.
The town of Granite Bay attracts residence because of its stellar school system (Eureka School District), proximity to Sacramento, Roseville, and Folsom Lake, and its diverse offering of communities including gated, guard gated, and rural neighborhoods.
Location and Demographics:
Granite Bay isn’t actually a city, but a census-designated place (CDP) in Placer County, California. With a total area of 21.6 square miles, it lies in the foothills only 25 miles from the Sacramento capital.
As of 2014, 22,204 residents call Granite Bay home, a rise of 13.67% since the 2000 census.
Affluence
Granite Bay is one of the most affluent communities in Sacramento and Northern California. The average household income is $160,578 and the median is $123,631, well above the U.S. household median of $51,393. The economy of Granite Bay is always thriving, providing a strong tax base for community improvements. The medical industry is the leading employer in the area, accounting for 2.3% of all jobs, with plenty of careers in finance, computer tech, and tech manufacturing.
However, living in Granite Bay comes with a high price tag, as it’s been named one of the 25 American cities in the nation with the highest cost of living, a whopping 97.9% higher than the U.S. average.
A Variety of Neighborhoods
Granite Bay offers its residents a variety of living options from a traditionally established neighborhood on the border of Roseville to an exclusive, guard gated community like Los Lagos or Wexford to a more rural lifestyle, living on one to several acres. Some neighborhoods like the sought-after Hidden Valley even have their own equestrian facilities and water supply. Other neighborhoods offer luxury estates without gates like Shelborne or Douglas Ranch while Wedgewood and Granite Bay Hills are gated communities that have private access to Granite Bay county club. There is even a handful of homes that are located on Folsom Lake and have direct access to the water.
Activities
There’s no shortage of recreational activities in Granite Bay including equestrian centers, golf clubs, tennis courts, parks, and other outdoor activities. Some fun-filled local attractions include: Quarry Ponds, Otow Orchards, Rickey Ranch Pumpkin Patch, Granite Bay Golf Club, and Folsom Lake Recreation Center.
Granite also offers some great local eateries including: Chez Daniel, Back Wine Bar and Bistro, Hawks, Vaiano Trattoria, Farm Haus, Source, and Bernardos.
Real Estate in Granite Bay
Granite Bay real estate is highly desirable, so homes sell quickly with stiff competition. There are 7,694 households in Granite Bay, with 89.8% owned by the occupants, 12.1% rentals, and 4.1% vacant.
Granite Bay is a hot bed for luxury real estate and million dollar homes, with approximately 25% of all listings priced over $1,000,000 at any given time, and 1% over the $2,000,000 mark.
Education
Granite Bay is one of the state’s highest performing districts for standardized test scores and home to the highly-acclaimed Eureka School District and Granite Bay High School. Residents of the community are extremely well educated on a whole, with 96.8% of all residents over 25 years old having earned their high school diploma or higher, 54.2 earning Bachelor’s degrees or more, and an impressive 23.5% achieving a graduate or doctoral degree.
RJUHSD Tops AP Scores List
Students in the four-county Sacramento region scored well enough on 22,464 Advanced Placement tests to earn college credit last school year, up 20 percent from four years prior, according to new data from the California Department of Education.
Advanced Placement classes are designed to be equivalent to college-level instruction. Many colleges allow students who score well on an AP test to earn college credit and skip that class when they arrive on campus. AP exams are scored from 1 (worst) to 5 (best). A score of 3 or higher is generally good enough to earn college credit.
To determine which districts and schools had the most AP success, The Sacramento Bee calculated the number of AP test scores of 3 or higher per 100 10th- to 12th-grade students. They found that the RJUHSD had the most AP success with Granite Bay High School being the only school with more passing AP grades than students.
Notable and famous Granite Bay residents:
- Eddie Murphy – Actor and comedian
- John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston - Actors.
- Tobin Esperance - Bassist of band Papa Roach
- Jeff Keith - Singer of band Tesla
- Chris Webber - Retired Sacramento Kings power forward and center
- Jason Williams - Orlando Magic, former Sacramento Kings point guard
- Shareef Abdur-Rahim - retired National Basketball Association (NBA) player and current Assistant GM for the Sacramento Kings
- Rick Adelman - former Sacramento Kings head coach
- Dusty Baker - Cincinnati Reds Manager, former San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs manager and MLB player
- Steve Cook - Former professional ten-pin bowler and member of the PBA Hall of Fame
- Maureen Reagan - Daughter of Former President Ronald Reagan lived in Granite Bay until her passing
- Summer Sanders - Multiple gold medalist in swimming at the 1992 Summer Olympics, TV Sports commentator and personality
- Steve Sax - Retired MLB baseball player (primarily second baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, and Oakland Athletics)
More About Granite Bay, CA
Bet You Didn't Know...
Small Town with a Big History
The community where Granite Bay now rests was first formed in the 1850s as a Gold Rush settlement, like many in the area. In fact, it was first known as “Granite Bar,” a mining and panning community just south of Horeshoe Bar. Roads were developed to connect the camps, and irrigation provided by the North Fork Ditch allowed workers to settle down in the area and start planting almond and olive orchards. By the 1950s, two large cattle ranches encompassed Granite Bay, enjoying its green pastoral hills and abundant water. Building of subdivisions like Granite Bay Vista started in the 1960s, but the area didn’t get its official name until July 28, 1987.
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